What have we learned in the non conference and will

[muskieman]

the Christmas break see any retooling or improvement in certain players? Looking at Craft and Des in particular and maybe Edwards. Seems like Sean wants to play more people, but Hunter has been the best off the bench. I think we have answers about Souley and so far it is all good. I have been surprised at how Zack has played so far, and while his D isn't stellar by any chance, he has shown better D than in past years. We can't expect Miles or Edwards to be as productive as Jack and Zack, but they have to be able to give Sean an alternative in some games because we see how a tired Jack and Zack production goes down and Souley can't be a 32-36 minutes every-game player. Des needs to bring more to the game, and I know he is a freshman, but his turnovers and production have not been up to par to trust him in big games. I hope the game slows do for him because he has the frame and potential. AND then there is Kyky and I have not a clue if or when he fits into games. Sean has given him chances but maybe the past few years shows us he peaked as a freshman. I hope I am wrong

All I want for Christmas is a solid 6-7-8 and maybe 9th player, so X isn't running on fumes by the beginning of February. Is that asking too much?

[muskieman]

• PLAYER------------MIN%---PRPG! BPM ORTG USG EFG TS OR DR AST TO BLK STL FTR
  #0 Souley Boum 80.5 5.5 8.0 127.9 21.1 63.9 70.4 1.1 11.7 21.7 18.1 0.5 2.0 66.3
  #3 Colby Jones 73.0 5.4 9.2 123.7 22.6 55.0 60.7 7.1 11.2 28.9 15.6 1.8 2.5 48.0
  #24 Jack Nunge 70.2 4.2 8.9 120.6 22.2 59.4 60.9 10.2 18.7 10.6 11.0 5.4 1.9 37.6
  #32 Zach Freemantle 69.8 2.9 4.9 106.9 23.0 61.5 62.6 6.2 23.8 19.3 24.4 3.5 1.4 35.0
  #5 Adam Kunkel 53.4 2.3 3.8 110.0 17.1 58.8 60.1 0.0 7.4 15.6 18.8 0.8 2.5 9.5
  #2 Jerome Hunter 27.3 1.3 -0.1 122.9 15.0 64.0 65.8 15.8 15.5 10.8 21.0 3.2 0.5 20.0
  #15 KyKy Tandy 37.7 0.3 -0.0 96.1 13.9 40.9 42.0 1.5 7.2 12.6 11.7 1.8 2.6 11.4
  #12 Kam Craft 19.5 0.3 -1.3 93.7 17.8 62.0 62.0 7.4 16.5 5.8 31.7 1.1 1.9 0.0
  #34 Elijah Tucker 1.4 0.0 -17.5 76.2 42.7 25.0 25.0 42.1 0.0 28.5 21.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
  #4 Cesare Edwards 4.3 0.0 -6.2 82.5 24.1 62.5 62.5 6.7 23.0 0.0 35.3 5.1 0.0 0.0
  #22 Dieonte Miles 15.9 - 0.2 -4.6 79.0 15.2 45.5 38.9 10.8 12.5 4.2 20.2 2.8 1.5 109.1
  #1 Desmond Claude 46.1 -0.6 -3.8 76.2 16.7 41.7 43.0 0.6 10.8 16.8 33.3 0.5 2.7 28.6

[pdxmuskie]

Claude has more upside that I expect him to achieve this year. That being said, I don't believe TOs are generally an issue for him. He is averaging just over 2 per game in 19 minutes. He had 2 bad games, game 1 of his freshman season with 4 TOs and the game against Southern where he had 5.

He does need to improve his offensive efficiency but playing good defense and limiting mistakes should generally be enough to allow him to play significant minutes.

I have no idea what happened to Tandy. He looked good for several games to start the year. Yes it was against moderate competition but he looked good. He lost his starting spot and became a non factor. It would be amazing if he could provide 10 solid minutes a game.

Craft looked more comfortable on the floor the last few games he got minutes. That is a good sign. He is also showing he is a capable shooter which will hopefully result in efficient scoring in the minimal time he is on the court.

Edwards seems capable of contributing. I wonder if his desire to shoot from outside is keeping him off the floor? At this point, I would much rather Sean develop Edwards than Miles. Edwards appears more mobile and has eligibility for future years.

Miles may come in handy against certain teams. He has great length which could be disruptive or at least give X 5 extra fouls.

It is hard to see a guard other than Claude providing meaningful minutes on a consistent basis. We likely have to hope for Craft or Tandy having good moments when they are needed.

Hunter, Miles and Edwards need to give at least 15 solid minutes combined each game. Most of that will be Hunter but I see potential in Edwards. If Miles or Edwards can't step in and provide quality minutes then Sean needs to increase resting minutes for Nunge and Free while decreasing playing minutes for Edwards/Miles - strategic fouls when they are in the game. Basically, no easy buckets allowed when Edwards/Miles are in, force FTs which stops the clock and increases rest for Nunge/Free. Preferably the fouls are directed at moderate to bad FT shooters but most importantly no and 1s.

[skyhops]

Miles has been at Xavier for a long time and just isn’t good enough to play D1 basketball but I feel can and will provide some relief if he gets back on defense and rebounds. Miller talked up Tandy a few games ago but he isn’t shooting well and really is t an upgrade. Craft will get more confident as season goes on.